Illusions (Night Roamers) Book Four by Kristen Middleton Page B

slipperier than they look.”
    “I understand that,” I replied, annoyed that, as usual, he couldn’t just let me drive without giving orders.
    He put his hand on the dashboard. “Give yourself enough time to stop at the lights,” he sai d, as we neared a red one, “or, you’re going to slide right through.”
    “ Oh, you mean like you did earlier?” I said dryly.
    He ignored me.
    When the light ch anged to green, I pressed the gas slowly, and soon we were nearing Club Nightshade.
    “I can’t believe that place is packed on a night like this,” I said, staring in wonder. The parking lot was full and some cars were even parked on the street.
    “This town is small. It’s all they’ve got for fun on the weekends.”
    “I wonder who’s running it now that Faye is gone.”
    He rubbed his chin. “Maybe Victor purchased it. It wouldn’t surprise me a bit.”
    My eyes widened . “Maybe he’s hiding mom there.”
    “Nah. I think he may have moved h er somewhere quiet. Probably out of town. There’s no way he’s going to keep her at a noisy place like that. Not when her pregnancy means so much to his plans for a ‘new world order’.”
    “ I think we need to try and find this mad scientist he’s been bragging about. Then we’ll follow him, and eventually, he’ll lead us right to her.”
    He moved his leg and groaned . “Exactly.”
    I frowned. “I’m bringing you back to Duncan’s so you can rest your leg. Then I’m going to look for him.”
    “What about Drake?”
    “Drake is supposed to be at the cabin, so hopefully I’ll run into both.” I grabbed my phone from the dashboard. “He still hasn’t responded to my texts or voicemails. I’m getting really worried, Nathan. It’s been too many hours.”
    “ Look, I’m coming with you to the cabin.”
    I clucked my tongue. “I think that’s a bad idea.”
    He yawned. “I… I just need a Red Bull or something to wake me up. Then I’ll be fine.”
    “Nathan, what you need is to stay off of that ankle.”
    “ Eh, it’s really not that bad.”
    “ It looked bad to me. It’s going to get worse if you don’t take care of it.”
    “ Quit telling me what to do, and stop over there,” he pointed up ahead to a gas station.
    Realizing that he wasn’t going to back down, I pulled into the parking lot.
    “We should probably get some gas while we’re here,” I said, stopping next to one of the pumps.
    “Unleaded,” he replied , pulling out his wallet. When he opened it, he sighed. “I’ve got five bucks left.”
    “Guess I’ll be using Duncan’s credit card again,” I sa id, pulling it out of my coat pocket.
    “Whatever happened to your purse?”
    “ Flying while holding onto a purse is a little awkward.”
    He snorted. “Bet you never thought that would be an issue.”
    I smirked. “Can’t say I did.” I got out of the car and pumped twenty dollars’ worth of gasoline using the credit card. Then I walked into the gas station with Nathan’s five dollar bill.
    “Hey, Nikki,” said the attendant as I set two energy drinks onto the counter.
    “Hi , Michele,” I replied uneasily. I’d been in two of her classes at school and had found out fairly quickly that she was the gossip queen of Shore Lake.
    She pushed a strand of dark hair behind her ear and gave me a sympathetic smile. “I… uh, I heard about your mom. Sorry for your loss.”
    “Thanks.”
    “So, are you coming back to school here in town?”
    I shrugged. “I’m not sure. There’s so much going on.”
    “ Speaking of which – did you hear about Duncan and Sonny? The guys who own the boat marina?”
    “ No, what about them?” I asked, curious as to what she would say. Fortunately, she had no idea that Duncan and I were together.
    Her eyes sparkled. “I heard that Duncan killed his father and is now on the run from the cops.”
    “What? ” I snapped. “That’s a bunch of crap. Where did you hear that?”
    She looked a little taken aback. “From Caleb’s